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The lifeblood of any MMO is the community of players who support the development team and the game itself. KingsIsle's Wizard101 is one inarguably of the premier communities in the MMO space today. We've got a few thoughts to share and a short but informative interview with Kiersten Samwell, Community & Social Relations Manager for KingsIsle. Keep reading!

To my way of thinking, there is no more passionate involved fanbase for any MMO out there than the one that sits in support of KingsIsle's Wizard101. Every time we post an article or a contest, we are literally bombarded by these good people, not because there is an agenda behind their visits, but because they are hungry for any and all information about the game that has brought them countless hours of enjoyment. It is this group and to their shepherd, Community & Social Relations Manager Kiersten Samwell that today's column is dedicated.

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As an Official fan site owner I couldn't agree more! While recently my Spiral adventures have had me in Pirate101....Kingsisle and our community is one of the most ethusiatic of any gaming community. The only time I've felt this same love is on gaming communities like Pokemon or Elder Scrolls. We really are unique in that our audience like Pokemon ranges from young kids to adults who like me have been playing the games for years. Furthermore, I would like to say Kiersten Samwell is an awesome community manager and I love working with her, She always has goodies for us to give out to the community, we, the fans certainly appreciate it!

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It is aging? Really? I keep forgetting that this is the internet and the Warhol 15 min goes pretty fast nowadays. Unlike the many domino games that gathered every day for decades in places like pool halls, bowling alleys, garages, hardware or feed stores this community lives in the virtual world where I can play with friends from across the ocean and the other side of the country. I grew up learning strategy and gamesmanship from my extended family. It continues to be part of what we do as a group when we gather together. The players know each other and look forward to the time together. They study how to improve their game. They experiment with new strategies and adapt to changing rules of the house. I see similar things in W101. My ability to solo a boss is often dependent upon someone else having already been pummeled by them and what not to do. I have often and repeatedly looked to fellow players for help, even if it was to get a tip on how to beat a boss or where that dang monkey, beetle, ufo is located.

Yeah sure it costs to play past Wizard City. In fact unless you want to be a Three Streets Savior for your entire wizarding career I would pony up the bucks to play. Guess what that is how games work. I haven't seen an arcade yet that let you play for free. You can play without spending extra money on crowns for gear. Nobody forces you to buy a hoard pack or a dozen. That is your call. If you want a particular piece of crown gear the odds are that some boss somewhere drops it. I have trashed more crown gear than I have kept and far more than I have bought. Which brings me back to the point of the article. That the game has a community that is involved in and concerned about the game and how it is played and its direction. We have differing opinions but (and thanks to the mods sometimes) we mostly manage to be civil about it.

Four thousand huh? Well, any time you need a few clicks on the page say a few syllables about wizard and we will likely beat a trail here. Oh and thanks for the prize pack, I just sort of mused on that silly green lizard. Time to bash some monsters!

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Originally posted by cactusflinthead

It is aging? Really? I keep forgetting that this is the internet and the Warhol 15 min goes pretty fast nowadays. Unlike the many domino games that gathered every day for decades in places like pool halls, bowling alleys, garages, hardware or feed stores this community lives in the virtual world where I can play with friends from across the ocean and the other side of the country. I grew up learning strategy and gamesmanship from my extended family. It continues to be part of what we do as a group when we gather together. The players know each other and look forward to the time together. They study how to improve their game. They experiment with new strategies and adapt to changing rules of the house. I see similar things in W101. My ability to solo a boss is often dependent upon someone else having already been pummeled by them and what not to do. I have often and repeatedly looked to fellow players for help, even if it was to get a tip on how to beat a boss or where that dang monkey, beetle, ufo is located.

Yeah sure it costs to play past Wizard City. In fact unless you want to be a Three Streets Savior for your entire wizarding career I would pony up the bucks to play. Guess what that is how games work. I haven't seen an arcade yet that let you play for free. You can play without spending extra money on crowns for gear. Nobody forces you to buy a hoard pack or a dozen. That is your call. If you want a particular piece of crown gear the odds are that some boss somewhere drops it. I have trashed more crown gear than I have kept and far more than I have bought. Which brings me back to the point of the article. That the game has a community that is involved in and concerned about the game and how it is played and its direction. We have differing opinions but (and thanks to the mods sometimes) we mostly manage to be civil about it.

Four thousand huh? Well, any time you need a few clicks on the page say a few syllables about wizard and we will likely beat a trail here. Oh and thanks for the prize pack, I just sort of mused on that silly green lizard. Time to bash some monsters!

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I am a 55 year old grandmother, whose 10 year old twin grand daughters got me interested in this game a year ago. I now have 6 wizards scattered throughout the spiral! I play every single day. My wizards garden 2 or 3 times every day. This game has put some fun back into my fairly boring life. It is also a great way to exercise your brain. It is also teaching my 5 year old grand daughter to read! Way to go KingsIsle! Thank You.

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While I no longer play Wizard 101 and have not played for years now, I do know my experiences with the community were always positive. Looking at the reputation and many experiences I have had on this site, we could take a lesson on how to be more civil and respectful to each other from the Wizard 101 and pirate 101 communities.

That being said, I must say I dislike how Kingsisle exploits this site for its own advertisement purposes and how MMorpog.com seems ok with it. When a company activitely solicits to win your game of the year award when clearly other games outsold and were better received than the winner, Pirate 101, it makes many of us, your biggest supports question the validity and meaning of your awards. After this debacle, I no longer respect any of the awards this site gives and I question any reviews and conclusions made regarding games. I know I still come here and post, but i will place much more value on the opinons of other posters.

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I play Wizard101 with my daughter. It something we really enjoy doing together. It's has elements that appeal to young and old alike. Today we have plans to take out Malastair in the afternoon and it's something we are both excited to do together. I've played many Multiplayer Online Games and this is one of the best ones I've found as far as being able to share the experience with my children.

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Originally posted by sumdumguy1

While I no longer play Wizard 101 and have not played for years now, I do know my experiences with the community were always positive. Looking at the reputation and many experiences I have had on this site, we could take a lesson on how to be more civil and respectful to each other from the Wizard 101 and pirate 101 communities.

That being said, I must say I dislike how Kingsisle exploits this site for its own advertisement purposes and how MMorpog.com seems ok with it. When a company activitely solicits to win your game of the year award when clearly other games outsold and were better received than the winner, Pirate 101, it makes many of us, your biggest supports question the validity and meaning of your awards. After this debacle, I no longer respect any of the awards this site gives and I question any reviews and conclusions made regarding games. I know I still come here and post, but i will place much more value on the opinons of other posters.

Lol, nothing wrong with it, get over yourself. P101 won because they got their vote out, other "better received" games had the chance to do the same.

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Ever since i played wziard101 i thought that it was a very fun and exciting game for anyone who loves computer games. I play wizard101 sometimes and have been playing wizard101 for a long time and i really enjoy the game.(:

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You are still upset about the vote? Lobbying your side to "get out the vote" is part and parcel of every election in any country. Did you expect this vote to occur in a vaccuum devoid of outside influence? All KI did was tell the community there was a vote available. They offered no enticements nor did they pressure us to do so, either of which might be considered unethical. Merely making the voters aware of said vote and directing them to the polling place is common practice in any election or vote. If other gaming developers did not make use of social networking to inform their players of the contest that is their fault and in no way diminishes the vote. If it was all that important (which it is not) then surely other games would have found a way to "get out the vote".

Using a site to get word out about your game? Brilliant! Reach an audience that might not have heard of your product? Why sign me up now!

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I'd like to see more response/follow-up to the promised updates by

Professor Greyrose - Jun/12/2012 3:56 pmAt this time, I can confirm that we have plans to make changes to Player vs Player combat, but we are not ready to discuss what those changes are, or how extensively PvP will be altered.We are also ...not ready to release information about a timeline on these changes. The feedback here on the Player vs Player section of the official message boards are referenced during our discussions about the current state of PvP.

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First off have to say I love Wizard101 and applaud KI for its creation. Ok here is my rant: Now that I am Playing every day, Buying crowns, Renewing my subscription(s) why can’t you fix PvP. I do not understand why it takes sooooooo long to fix what really needs to be fixed. It has been almost a year ago (June 2012) when KI posted that they had a PvP fix coming (No TimeLine) and today as we enter March 2013 - STILL NOTHING.Myself and many many many other players have offered an array of solutions only to appear that they are being ignored. I understand as a programmer that changing code can really play havoc with real life consequences. But still nothing! (And Yes I am willing to tell anyone willing to listen to my very simple non impactful solutions).Now what is KI good at: FIXING STUFF THAT DOESN’T NEED FIXING.So when KI is not fixing PvP, you keep on tweaking stuff which irritates most of us such as gardening glitches (Multi Level), housing rug glitches, and so on. So yes I play every day – just fix what you say you are going to fix.

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^What he said. As a community manager very much in touch with her community, I would love Ms Samwell's response to concerns repeatedly brought to the KI offical message boards and alsoWizard101 Central, about their PVP matcihng system. I guess you can say that mid level PVP support groups such as the Knights Who Say Ni and others are avid W101 fans, but not necessarily happy ones. Every day new people flock to Central to start threads about their disappointment with the current PVP system, which allows severe griefing to go unchecked. Does Ms Samwell realize how uncaring and greedy KI seems when they crank out hoard pack after hoard pack and ignore PVP? If she truly reads feedback on these forums, she has heard the horrible experiences that have become commonplace in the broken arena. How can she claim to love and care about a community that is so neglected?

" ... in the course of 7 months, how much content have you released? How many hoard packs have been released? How much has your player base and staff increased? Yet, your pvp community continues to wait, problems within pvp increase, exploits and bullying are on the rise, yet in 7 months, we receive the identical response from you, albeit with an additional 6 words. How long are we to wait for KI to make these promised changes to pvp, and stand by their committment to in game exploits and bullying seen as a serious offense?"

... King Isle's actions ( or lack of action ) screams a different story. The good members of Central have made many great suggestions on ways to improve this problem and King Ilse tried none of them in test . I no longer have faith in their spokeperson , at one time King Ilse listened to the voices of mmbers from Central but lately that seems to no longer be the case . They are losing long time players who once loved PvP but now rarely go into the arena. This game is no longer a family friendly game unless you set it to menu chat and never PvP, such a shame too ...